General News

Video Featuring SpongeBob Hit with Gay Warning

A children's video starring SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and a host of other
cartoon favourites has been slapped with a gay alert warning by Christian
Conservative groups.

The music video, due to be sent to 61,000 schools across America in March, was made by the nonprofit We Are Family Foundation to encourage tolerance and diversity.

But Christian activist groups the American Family Association and Focus On
The Family say the innocent cartoon characters are being exploited to promote
the acceptance of homosexuality.

The video is a remake of the 1979 hit song We Are Family, featuring
SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie The Pooh, Bob The Builder, the Rugrats and 100 TV
cartoon stars. It was made by a foundation set up by songwriter Nile Rodgers to
promote America's healing process after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Christian groups, however, have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on
the foundation's website, which asks people to respect the sexual identity of
others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race.

Rodgers hits back, "That is so myopic and harsh. You have really got to look
hard to find anything in this that is offensive to anyone. The last thing I am
going to do is taint these characters."